I Wasn’t Prepared For This Many Games: January 2019

Path of Exile: Betrayal

Where do I start with Path of Exile? The action RPG has been out for years now with countless content updates and new mechanics that come with every league they launch. I’ve been playing PoE on and off for around three years, logging in around 350 hours. After 350 hours, I still don’t feel like I have a grip on half of what the game has to offer.

Betrayal launched the same day as Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, which meant I didn’t really jump in until a week or so later. Since then, I’ve switched much of my focus from SSBU to PoE. I haven’t played a lot of the actual Betrayal League, due to it requiring you to start characters from scratch, but the core game got a massive update that I’ve been having fun with.

Three previous leagues; Delve, Incursion and Bestiary, were added to the core game with the Betrayal update, two of which I’ve never played before. A lot of the appeal for coming back to PoE was getting to experience these mechanics for the first time.

They’ve each been fun and have added more game play options to the already expansion end-game mapping system that PoE boasts. The real fun though, comes with the variety of characters that you can build.

Since I started my time in PoE, I’ve had around half a dozen different character builds. Not a lot compared to some hardcore players, but enough for me to experience a piece of the massive passive skill tree. Each character has been time consuming, but I’ve felt I’ve progressed as a player after each of them.

My first character didn’t reach mapping. The second around tier 4 maps, the third tier 8 and so on. In the past three weeks I’ve leveled three completely different characters,

Each an attempt at searching for what exactly I want to send into the end game; tier 15/16 maps, Elder, Shaper and more. I reached my highest level yet with my Lightning Arrow Slayer at 91 but got a bit bored on the way. I tried a Zombie Summon Necromancer which is great, but not optimal for going on deeper delves. Finally, I ended up with a Molten Strike Juggernaut, where I’m currently about to jump into maps.

Path of Exile’s going to be one of those games I continually go back to when new content is launched. It’s addictive and fun to try new builds and use new abilities. But hey, maybe Molten Strike will be the build I finally stick with?

If you’re interested in checking out Path of Exile, head to their official site here to download the client, or you can also grab it through Steam.

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

My game time with SSBU has really slowed down this past week as I jumped into Path of Exile, but I’m still playing it off and on.

Since writing my review, I’ve completed the World of Light 100%, completed a few of the challenge boards and finished off roughly 1/3 of characters classic modes. I’ve been addicted to leveling spirits, sometimes logging into the game just to re-set the dojo with new spirits, but I’ve been slowly losing interest.

I’ve never been the type to master one character in fighting games. I love Captain Falcon and he’s always been my go-to besides Link, but I spend too much time with other characters to become consistent against high level players or even level 8-9 computers.

I’ll keep at it though, the Piranha Plant DLC is on its way and I’m eager to see what’s that’s like and the Classic Modes have been surprisingly smart and fun to play through.

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate OST

One of the biggest surprises for me while playing SSBU, is the soundtrack. There are over 800 songs in the game, and it even includes a mode where you can play music while leaving the screen off to save battery.

I haven’t utilized that much, but I have been keeping the soundtrack on repeat via YouTube videos for the past few weeks. Castlevania, Donkey Kong and Zelda have all been stellar, but those three game series don’t even scratch the surface of what you can find in SSBU.

If you’re interested in these game series and want to hear some great remixes, check out the links below.